Golf-club.



J. W. OFFUTT.

GOLF CLUB.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23. 19M.

Patentetl Janyll, 1916. v

.a 'a s JOHN W. OFFUTT, '0F ELLWooD crirY, PENNSYLVANIA.

GOLF-CLUB.

To all rwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. QFFUTT, a

citizen of the United States, and resident of Ellwood City, in the county of Lawrence and State of Pennsylvania, have` invented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf-Clubs, of which the followingA is a specification.

My invention relates tothe construction of golf clubs. and more particularly to the means employed in securing the head to the shaft of the golf club. y

Golf clubs have been made heretofore, having a hollow metal shaft with a wooden or composition head attached thereto. The tubular metal shaft is necessarily of small diameter and wall thickness. In such golf clubs the end of the tubular shaft extends into a recess or hole in the neck on the head of the golf club, and a pin extending transversely through registering holes in the neck and shaft of the golf club is used to fasten the head to the shaft. The pin is necessarily made of such .size that the shaft and neck on the wooden or composition head of the golf club are weakened so as to cause great liability of the shaft being broken or the neck on the head split or broken by the torsional strains set up in striking a golf ball with the club.

An essential or desirable characteristic of a golf club is a suilicient flexibility in the shaft to give to the club whatis sometimes called whip, meaning thereby, as generally understood, that upon contact of the head with the ball as in drive or brassy shots the shaft will bend slightly under the impact of the blow and then tend to straighten during the latter part of the stroke and before the ball moves away from the face of the head of the club, this straightening of the shaft imparting an additional force or momentum to the ball. This desirable quality is secured in wooden clubs, by making the shaft of small section near the neck of the head and of a very tough but fflexible material, such as straight grained hickory, but owing to the scarcity of suitable material it isl difficult to secure the desired elasticity without unduly. decreasing the strength. The desired degree of flexibility can besecured by using a metal tube which also hasmuch greater strength than the toughest wood. This hadV led to an attempt to substitute metal tubing for wood. But the attempt to use metal tubing has `introduced Specification of `Letters Patent.

Application iled September 23, 1914. Serial N o. 863,055.

Patented Jan. 11, 191e.

another objection, namely, the difficulty of adequately securing the vend of the tube in the neck of the club head owing to the fact that the tube is of small diameter and also to the fact that it is more difficult to unite wood and metal by cement. The metal tube resists torsion or twisting to a much greater extent than wood, but ait t ezffshme time this force belng exerted eccentric to the axis of the shaft tends to turn the head on the shaft and therefore it becomes necessary to secure even a stronger joint or better adhesion between the neck of the head and the metal shaft than between the same parts when all composed of wood.

My invention secures the advantages inherentin the use of metal shafts and overcomes the disadvantages above pointed out with the result that my improved club has greater flexibility and whip than the woodenA shaft and secures an adequate connection between the shaft and the head of the club.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a golf club comprising a tubular metal shaft with a composition or wooden head having improved means whereby the tubular shaft is'fastened to the head of the club and still further objects of the invention consist in the -novel construction. and arrangement of parts more fully described hereinafter and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure l is a plan of a golf club having a tubular metal shaft and having a head secured tothe shaft in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional plan, on a larger scale, showing the construction of the fastening'by which the head is secured `to the shaft of the golf club in accordance with this invention. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line III- III of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail plan partlyl in section, showing a modification in the construction of the end of` the vtubular-shaft to which the head of the golf clubfis attached, also made in accordance with my-inventio Fig. 5 is a transverse section, on an exaggerated scale,- taken. on the line V-.V of Fig. 4. a

In the accompanying drawings the nu' meral 2 designates the head of a golf club having a neck 3 with an opening or hole therein, 'into which the enlarged endof the tubular shaft 4 of the club extends The shaft is provided at its upper end with a.

By reference to Big. 3, it will be seen that the outer surface of the enlarged lower end of the shaft is-provided with a series of alternate ridges and grooves forming a fluted surface. ln the construction. of F ig. 2 a

fiuted, is heated and placed on the end of the shaft so that upon cooling it shrinks upon the shaftjand thereby is rigidly fastened to the shaft 4. The fluted end of the shaft is then cementedv or otherwise secured in the opening or hole in the neck 3 of the head 2. rlhe head and adjacent end of the shaft 4 preferably is then wrapped with twine or other 4binding material 7 in the usual known manner. rlhe flutes on the surface of the enlarged end of the golf club forni corresponding or registering flutes in the opening in the neck 3 into which the end of the shaft extends so that the irregular meeting surfaces effectually prevent twisting or turning of the head 2 on the shaft 4 when the golf club is being used.

in the modified construction shown in Fig. 4 the enlargement 8 on the end of the tubular metal shaft is formed integrally, the tube first -being expanded to the desired diameter and then being provided with the series of parallel grooves and ridges to form 'the fluted surface on the enlarged end of` such tubular metal shaft.` 4In this construcf tion the head 2 is attached to the enlarged end of the. shaft 4 in the same manner as has been described for the construction of Fig. 2.-

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. By enlargingthe end of the tubular end of the shaft, the surface of the shaft engaging with the head is materiallyincreased andbv reason of the increased diameter of the'end of the tubular shaft the provision of a fluted surface is made possible of a size enabling the head to be securely fastened to the tubular metal shaft without weakening the joint, as is done when pins extending throughmegistering transverse openings in the neck of the golf club head and shaft are used. The avoidance of using transverse holes in the shaft and head of the golf club materially increases the strength of the club with little or no increase in weight. rfhe engaging fluted surfaces of the shaft and head effectively prevent twisting of the head on the shaft and resist the torsional strains'set up in the golf club when being used.

Modifications in the construction Aand arrangement of the golf club may be made tubular thimble 6, after being bored andU b without departing from, my invention. Serrated or fluted surfaces may be provided on the end of a tubular metal shaft which is not expanded; Tubular shafts may be enlarged on the end thereof, and the enlargement provided with a plane cylindrical surface, and other changes may be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A golf club comprising a tubular metalr 3. A golf club comprising a tubular metal ment having a series of parallel flutes in the outer surface thereof to engage the neck of the head and prevent turning of the head on the shaft.

In testimony whereof, l have hereunto set my hand. I p

y JUHN W. OFFUTT. Witnesses: H". W. lPHELPs. G. E. Moran.

'shaft and a non-metallic head, the contact- 'ing surfaces of the head and shaft being 

